The 2026 Commonwealth Games—frequently likened to a scaled-down Olympics—are currently taking place in Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow stepped in as the host city after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew due to escalating cost concerns. The Opening Ceremony will take place entirely indoors at the OVO Hydro on 23 July – late at night for Indians. The competitions will be held from 24 July to 2 August.
To drastically lower operational costs and keep the budget at roughly £150 million, all competitions are concentrated across four primary venues located within a tight, eight-mile geographic corridor.
India faces a significantly reduced medal prospect at the Glasgow Games due to the exclusion of several traditional stronghold sports. Because Glasgow stepped in to host a budget-friendly, highly streamlined event, the sports roster was trimmed from 19 down to just 10 disciplines. This drastic operational overhaul means that 30 out of India’s 61 medals won at Birmingham 2022—including 13 of its 22 gold medals—are completely off the table before competition even begins.
India’s final medal tally is projected to drop significantly because its most dominant, medal-heavy sports have been axed. Wrestling & Table Tennis delivered 19 collective medals in 2022. In Badminton, India won 31 all-time medals, including defending champions across three formats. Shooting has been India’s most successful CWG sport historically with 135 medals. Field Hockey & Women’s Cricket, both team events have been completely removed.
Despite the lower expected medal count, Indian sports bodies are treating Glasgow as a crucial technical and administrative stepping stone. A high-level delegation is tracking operations to gain critical logistical experience as Ahmedabad officially prepares to host the centenary 2030 Commonwealth Games.
The message that emerges from this is that it is not enough to dominate in certain disciplines, there has to be all round excellence, be it in medal heavy sports (such as gymnastics), or those in which an entire team has to strive for a medal. It is not as though India is not making the effort – even sports that do not have a large following have been sought to be developed – although with differing levels of success.
It may be noted that sometimes it just takes one star to make a mark on the basis of a unique natural ability so as to create interest in a particular discipline. Neeraj Chopra is just one such example. It is hoped that the established athletes will do well and, also new stars will emerge to give a further boost to India’s sports culture in this edition of the games.
